9th FMM/2019 9th FEALAC FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic November 9, 2019 SANTO DOMINGO DECLARATION - 20 years: New Actions for a Better Future - Introduction 1. Recognizing the Forum for East Asia – Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) as a unique intergovernmental multilateral consultation space between the countries of East Asia and Latin America, which, since its creation in September 1999, FEALAC has encouraged new partnerships, and new opportunities for intercontinental cooperation. We, the Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegations of the member countries of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), met in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on 09 November 2019, with a view to strengthen the relationship between the two regions. 2. The 9th FEALAC Foreign Ministers‟ Meeting was held under the co-chair of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People‟s Democratic Republic, as the FEALAC Regional Coordinator for East Asia, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, as FEALAC Regional Coordinator for Latin America. 3. We recognize the importance of the New FEALAC Action Plan to increase the effectiveness of FEALAC and the need to progressively review all activities that derive from them, in order to meet the development needs of the member countries. 4. Recalling the achievements of the eight previous Foreign Ministers‟ Meetings and recognizing the substantive discussion at the 9th FEALAC Foreign Ministers‟ Meeting, we adopt this Santo Domingo Declaration. 5. Therefore, in accordance with the priorities of member countries, in relation to the proposed measures and activities contained in the New FEALAC Action Plan, we decided to refer to the following aspects: 9th FMM/2019 Revision and update of the "New FEALAC Action Plan" 6. Since the adoption of the "New FEALAC Action Plan", at the 8th Foreign Ministers‟ Meeting held on 31 August 2017, this document has served to give an integral and functional meaning to the mechanism through its three pillars: strengthening FEALAC‟s institutional framework, promoting Effectiveness of Working Groups and Projects, and enhancing partnership with Regional and International Organizations. 7. We acknowledge that the New FEALAC Action Plan is a living document that will continue to be reviewed and updated to reflect the newest developments of FEALAC. In this regard, we stress that changes in this plan should be done based on consensus among member countries, taking into account the 2030 Agenda and sustainable development. Strengthening the Institutional Framework of FEALAC 8. We reaffirm each member country‟s efforts and commitment to strengthening FEALAC‟s institutional framework, aiming at enhancing visibility of the forum and implementing activities within this mechanism under the guidelines of the New Action Plan adopted in Busan, Republic of Korea, on 31 August 2017. 9. We recognize the initiative of the Dominican Republic to develop the International Communication Plan to enhance the visibility of the FEALAC and to promote and strengthen the forum. The Plan should contain voluntary measures as well as specific strategies and actions that will contribute to FEALAC‟s more prominent positioning at the global level. 10. In this regard, we continue to support, from our respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the activities and actions aimed at advancing the International Communication Plan. We instruct our Senior Officials to prepare a draft of the International Communication Plan for our consideration. 11. In this context, Ministers take note of FEALAC Supporters Program initiated by Republic of Korea in 2019, which is a promotion activity to increase public awareness of FEALAC, and share the view that the Program would be a useful point of reference for advancing objectives of the International Communication Plan. 9th FMM/2019 12. We welcome the initiative for member countries to hold “FEALAC Day” – such as those that have been held by Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Mongolia, Lao PDR and Thailand – as part of increasing the visibility of FEALAC to the public. 13. We take note of Thailand‟s efforts in introducing FEALAC to the public in Thailand by creating “Discover Latin America” – a free-of-charge mobile phone application in the Thai language to provide general information about individual Latin American countries as well as regional groupings, including FEALAC. In addition, we recognize Thailand is hosting an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of FEALAC to promote a better understanding among people of the two regions. 14. We appreciate the invaluable contribution that the Cyber Secretariat, hosted by the Republic of Korea, has made to FEALAC. We renew the request to member countries to make continuous and active cooperation with the Cyber Secretariat. 15. Moreover, in light of the 20th anniversary, we recognize the importance of revitalizing the institutional framework, including, among other issues, the structure, aiming for a more dynamic cooperation and closer coordination amongst working groups to promote greater visibility of FEALAC. In this regard, we request to continue to discuss this matter at Senor Officials‟ Meeting of 2020. FEALAC Special Commemorative Summit 16. We identify the need to promote greater dynamism, participation and proactivity of the member states. In this regard, we agree to explore the possible organization of a FEALAC Special Commemorative Summit, with the participation of our Heads of State/Government. Regional Coordinators' rotation system 17. We have recognized the importance of the early selection of Regional Coordinators to ensure a well-functioning leadership system in FEALAC in the latest meeting. In this regard, in case that there are no volunteers, we encourage introducing a voluntary alphabetical rotation system in the year 2021, starting with the letter A, with due regard to those who have served as regional coordinators or hosted Foreign Ministers / Senior Officials‟ Meetings. We encourage Latin American and East Asian countries 9th FMM/2019 to consider choosing their respective regional coordinators a few months ahead of FEALAC Foreign Ministers‟ Meetings. 18. To allow the timely definition of the Regional Coordinators, consultations within the Latin America and East Asian groups on their respective candidates could be made via virtual means, followed by a silence procedure in order to verify consensus within both regions. The consensus on the regional coordination for each region should be achieved on a previously agreed date before FEALAC Foreign Ministers‟ Meetings. Promoting the effectiveness and efficiency of working groups and projects 19. We recognize the necessity of adopting a „Guideline for FEALAC Cooperation Projects‟ that prescribes, among others, the form, purpose, principle and procedure, etc., of all FEALAC Cooperation Projects in order that these may be implemented in a more systematic manner. In this regard, we recognize the need to hold a discussion on the draft „Guideline for FEALAC Cooperation Projects‟, which contains prescribed project procedures from project preparation to completion with a view to its ad referendum approval prior to or at the next Senior Officials‟ Meeting. Strengthening bi-regional educational, cultural, tourism and socio-political relations 20. We are committed to further promoting links and solidarity between all FEALAC member countries through public and cultural diplomacy, people-to-people exchange. In this regard, we consider the identification of inter-regional cooperation projects of voluntary participation, especially under the Working Group of Culture, Youth, Gender and Sports, to generate further dialogue, mutual knowledge, and cultural exchanges among the people of both regions. 21. In this regard, we recognize the importance of Expo 2023 Buenos Aires, Argentina, that will seek the development of “Creative Industries in the Digital Convergence”, and we encourage the participation of the FEALAC countries and companies in the field in order to contribute with ideas and experience. 22. We recognize the need to strengthen tourism cooperation among the countries of the two regions by expediting tourism promotion and marketing activities and enhance connectivity among the tourism destinations and products aimed at boosting tourism growth between the two regions. 9th FMM/2019 23. We are in favor of empowering women in different areas, such as social, foreign policy, employment and financial, and are committed to supporting projects which target the improvement of quality of life of women in both regions. 24. We take note of the proposal of creating the "FEALAC Games" or the "FEALAC Sports Festival" and look forward to its further detailing. 25. In essence, of promoting sports festival, we take into consideration that Panama will host the Central American and Caribbean Games 2022 and promote members of FEALAC to participate. Boosting partnerships with regional and international organizations 26. We favor the strengthening of the relations between FEALAC and other international organizations, in line with the matters of the Forum Action Plan, and take note of the efforts of the Dominican Republic that have allowed the presence of representatives of international agencies accredited to its government, in the recently concluded meetings. Achievements of the FEALAC Multi-Donor Trust Fund 27. We acknowledge the value of the FEALAC Multi-Donor Trust Fund, which was established at the 8th Foreign